One of Manchester’s newest restaurant openings has been receiving plenty of attention thanks to its rooftop views right across the city centre skyline.
But even without the incredible setting, the food at Sora is deserving of attention too.
This beautiful restaurant has a pan-Asian menu of small plates and robatayaki (a Japanese barbecue) dishes, as well as an afternoon tea that’s a little more interesting than your average.
Sora’s afternoon tea experience promises a ‘sensory journey to the orient’ through perfect bites of sushi, savoury dishes, and sweet treats.
For just £35 per person, you’re treated to a tower of delicacies, with a free cocktail added in for readers of The Manc (claim yours at the bottom of this article).
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The afternoon tea’s savouries feature tempura prawns with sweet chilli sauce, a cucumber sesame salad, chicken yakitori with tamarind and peanut, and pork belly with burnt apple puree.
Then there are a couple of beautiful sushi dishes – a spicy tuna gunkan and classic California rolls.
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The views from Sora in Malmaison in Manchester. Credit: SuppliedThe Manc readers can get a free cocktail when booking afternoon tea at Sora. Credit: The Manc Group
The sweet treats go way beyond your usual scones and Victoria sponges too, infusing exciting flavours from across Asia in this twist on a British tradition.
There’s a blueberry bergamot roll, a matcha chocolate slice, a mango coconut dome, and dinky miso caramel chocolate tarts.
Oh, there are still scones too – these ones are matcha flavoured, with a kumquat compote and clotted cream.
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Even the crockery is amazing – the afternoon treats are served on a tower of plates arranged around a ceramic golden stork.
There’s a massive list of cocktails to choose from at Sora, from cherry blossom negronis to passion fruit mai tais.
A huge festival dedicated to tequila and mezcal is coming to Manchester this month
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s first-ever Mezcal and Tequila Festival is taking place this month, filling Manchester Cathedral with tastings, masterclasses, cocktails and street food.
The massive event will see the Grade I-listed building transformed into an agave spirits tasting floor, featuring more than 100 varieties of premium tequilas and mezcals from some of Mexico’s best producers including El Jimador, Ojo de Tigre, El Sueno, Los Arcos, Del Maguey, Cazcabel, Komos, Nixta, Tapatio, El Tequileno, Tiempo and many more.
Festival-goers will be able to gain exclusive insights into the craftsmanship behind these spirits, sampling (responsibly, of course) from dozens of stands.
All samples, plus a limited-edition clay tasting copita, will be included in the ticket price – there’s no token system here and no extra charges for samples.
The new Mexican-inspired drinks festival only debuted in Glasgow back in Spring 2023 but it unsurprisingly went down an absolute storm – after all, what’s not to like a big festival full of booze?
Bartenders will stir up cocktails at the bespoke cocktail bar while the crowds are kept fed by delicious street food, including Mexican-inspired Taco Or Don’t, previously featured at the British Streetfood Awards.
And it’d be remiss of you to leave the festival empty-handed when you can take a taste of Mexico home from the exclusive bottle shop provided by Drinkmonger on site (with discount tokens included in the ticket price).
A tequila and mezcal festival is heading on Manchester. Credit: Supplied
Colin Campbell, one of Copita’s co-founders said: “We’re really excited to be bringing Copita to Manchester. It’s gone down brilliantly in Glasgow the last two years so we felt now was the right time to take it on the road and we couldn’t think of a better place than Manchester to head to next!
“It’s a really easy-going event with a great atmosphere, lots of local street food, shopping and music, so whether you’re an aficionado or a casual sipper we’re confident you’ll have a great time.”
The Copita Mezcal and Tequila Festival will be at Manchester Cathedral on Saturday 14 September.
Spinningfields to celebrate launch of new app with competition to win hundreds of FREE prizes
Emily Sergeant
You can be in with a chance of winning one of hundreds of free prizes just by heading down to Spinningfields next week.
In case you hadn’t heard, Spinningfields has just launched a brand-new app that’s now available to download, and in a bid to mark the occasion and properly celebrate this exciting launch, the city centre leisure and business district will be hosting an epic ‘Spin to Win’ event where there are hundreds of prizes to be won.
The new Spinningfields app is your ultimate guide to everything happening in the area, and it gives you access to special offers, fun monthly competitions, invitations to exciting events, community news, volunteering opportunities, and so much more.
Oh, and the best part about it? It’s free to download and sign up.
To celebrate the launch of our Spinningfields app, join us at Spinningfields Square between 8am and 5.30am on Tuesday 10 September. Download our FREE app, grab a FREE coffee from 92 Degrees (just for showing up), and spin to win some amazing prizes!
To start making the most of all of these exciting perks, you just need to download the Spinningfields app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone and verify your account, and then once you’ve done that, you’ll be able to head on down to Spinningfields Square next Tuesday (10 September) to spin the wheel for your chance to win some amazing prizes.
Some of the prizes on the jam-packed lineup include tickets to Chaos Karts and The Crystal Maze LIVE Experience, £100 vouchers for Australasia, £50 vouchers for Fazenda and The Ivy Spinningfields, plus free coffees, waffles, and doughnuts from Black Sheep Coffee.
You could also win yourself some complimentary cosmetic treatments at The Medika Clinic, as well as loads more, all by just spinning the wheel.
Spinningfields is celebrating the launch of its new app with a competition to win hundreds of free prizes / Credit: Supplied
And if the prizes somehow weren’t good enough to tempt you down to Spinningfields on their own, then luckily, there’ll also be a free freshly-brewed filter coffee for everyone who downloads the app and shows up on the day, while stocks last.
Basically, you’re guaranteed to walk away a winner no matter what.
The Spinningfields ‘Spin to Win’ official app launch is happening at Spinningfields Square on Tuesday 10 September from 8am to 5:30pm, and as organisers are anticipating the event will be busy one, it’s recommended that you download the app and verify your account before attending to ensure a smooth experience.